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Piqua rolls Wapakoneta in season opener

Sports Editor

PIQUA — The Wapakoneta Redskins had strong starts to each half Friday, showing flashes of potential, but neither time were they able to sustain their level of play in the first game of coach Doug Selvey’s tenure.

The Piqua Indians rolled to a 71-41 win Friday over Wapakoneta at Piqua High School’s Garbry Gymnasium in a non-league varsity boys basketball contest, on the first day of the 2013-14 regular season.

Selvey evaluated Friday’s game as a whole, considering it being his team’s first of the season and the program’s first with him in charge.

“We can get better, obviously,” Selvey said. “The kids are on board. You’re going to have growing pains when you change an entire system. You’ve got to look at it as a whole.”

Piqua led 24-17 at halftime and briefly extended its lead to eight at 30-22 before Wapak made a 10-1 run to take a one-point lead, 32-31 with 3:11 left to play in the third period.

The 15-7 run to start the second half was all the Redskins could muster, as Piqua rolled to victory in the final 11-plus minutes.

The Indians notched a 40-9 advantage the remainder of the game, scoring 30 points in the fourth period to seal the victory.

Wapakoneta put Piqua into a 11-2 hole less than 6 minutes into Friday’s game, with the help of one 3-pointer each by Kodi Morgan, Adam Henderson and Jarrett Koch.

Piqua made up two points by the end of the period to trail 11-6.

The Indians scored five straight to open the second period, tying the game at 11-11.

Piqua claimed its first lead of the game at 15-13 during a 15-2 run in the second period to help sustain a halftime lead of 24-17.

Selvey explained why he felt his team was not able to maintain its lead in either half.

“It was getting back in basketball shape a little bit,” he said. “I’m not putting all of the blame on that. I think that has something to do with it. We’re still trying to catch our groove.”

The coach did say that those quick starts are sometimes challenging and that they are welcomed.

“Quick starts to the game are sometimes a coach’s biggest issue,” Selvey said. “Hats off to the kids on that one. That’s a battle on a daily basis for a coach.”

The Redskins held Piqua to four points in the first 6 minutes of the game but allowed big runs at times in Friday’s game.

Selvey evaluated his team’s defensive performance.

“We are still very much in the works,” the coach said. “Things we’re attempting to do are not going to happen overnight. That’s important to understand.

“Once we get on the same page, we’ll be an effective defense,” he said.